Maybe some of you have seen the short report on SWR about the Senec batteries that literally went up in smoke. Unfortunately, my wife saw it too. The battery (Varta) is installed in the basement and is waiting for final installation by the electrician. She is starting to get cold feet and doesn’t feel comfortable having it installed. What do you think about this? Of course, it’s clear that any battery device can catch fire or explode, or that there is a higher risk of an electrical fire somewhere else. But I can’t deny that it is still a very large lithium battery that is almost impossible to control if it catches fire due to a short circuit or defect.
I’m asking for advice on what precautions can be taken or what your thoughts are on this. Does anyone know if in case of an incident this would be covered by the home insurance policy or if it needs to be reported separately?
I’m asking for advice on what precautions can be taken or what your thoughts are on this. Does anyone know if in case of an incident this would be covered by the home insurance policy or if it needs to be reported separately?
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xMisterDx25 Oct 2022 00:01Whether these fears are irrational will become clear in the coming years, as these storage systems are only now being installed in significant numbers.
It doesn’t even have to be a widespread manufacturing defect; any battery can have a fault from production and may eventually catch fire.
Dismissing this as nonsense would be like denying that people die every year in Germany due to faulty gas boilers and carbon monoxide. However, you can protect yourself by installing a CO detector... a burning 20 kWh (21.5 kWh) battery requires a fire suppression system.
I have seen inverters where DC link capacitors have burst or even exploded. I do not want any battery storage system in my home. I would rather install a power-to-gas system in the utility room.
PS:
By the way, electric cars have caught fire before. An Audi e-tron caused an entire house to burn down a few months ago. Just search online—there are already several cases of fires during charging involving the Audi e-tron alone...
It doesn’t even have to be a widespread manufacturing defect; any battery can have a fault from production and may eventually catch fire.
Dismissing this as nonsense would be like denying that people die every year in Germany due to faulty gas boilers and carbon monoxide. However, you can protect yourself by installing a CO detector... a burning 20 kWh (21.5 kWh) battery requires a fire suppression system.
I have seen inverters where DC link capacitors have burst or even exploded. I do not want any battery storage system in my home. I would rather install a power-to-gas system in the utility room.
PS:
By the way, electric cars have caught fire before. An Audi e-tron caused an entire house to burn down a few months ago. Just search online—there are already several cases of fires during charging involving the Audi e-tron alone...
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xMisterDx25 Oct 2022 00:06Tolentino schrieb:
For me personally, a storage system only makes sense if electricity prices rise significantly (I’m still at 27.5 cents per kWh), with backup power function, as an external storage (or at least in a cold attic—I have no more space in the utility room), or with bidirectional charging in the BEV. Or, of course, if the price simply becomes much cheaper (100 EUR/kWh (€100/kWh?)).A battery storage installed in an uninsulated attic, where temperatures can drop below freezing in winter and reach up to +60°C (140°F) in midsummer?
And preferably an old Tesla battery. That way you might as well risk a fire yourself, saving the cost of the battery purchase.
For home use, lithium iron phosphate batteries are a clear choice. However, they should definitely be installed within a heated enclosure and not exposed to extreme temperatures, such as those found in an uninsulated attic space.
The fire risk is also very low. If it were to overheat, it would only swell slightly and warm up somewhat. This is not comparable to cobalt lithium-ion batteries!
The fire risk is also very low. If it were to overheat, it would only swell slightly and warm up somewhat. This is not comparable to cobalt lithium-ion batteries!